British Land installed an advanced metering system at its head office to optimize energy usage and reduce costs. The system provided granular energy consumption data every 15 minutes, allowing engineers to fine-tune HVAC systems and identify other issues. This led to a 37% reduction in British Land-controlled energy usage within a year, saving over £63,000. Based on this success, the system will be expanded to eight more British Land locations.

1. Advanced Metering saves energy and money
If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it!
Advanced Metering delivers accurate energy and water
consumption data at a granular level, with such frequency, that
the building engineer can easily fine tune the central heating
and cooling plant to run optimally. British Land worked with all
stakeholders in their multi-let head office, delivering an outcome
so succesfull that the pilot is now being rolled out in a further
eight locations, involving the buy-in of over thirty organisations.
Situation
British Land have set themselves aggressive carbon • Provide occupier access to data allowing
reduction targets. In the face of increasing legislation, benchmarking
the rising cost of energy and defending corporate • Automate the occupier billing process
reputation, saving energy at an infrastructure level is a • Provide a scalable system with web access across
core operational objective. multiple buildings and users
Advanced Metering is at the centre of meeting that
objective, in both assessing current performance and
monitoring the impact of any infrastructure investment
strategy.
EP&T installed the EDGE Intelligent System at British
Land’s Head Office, York House, matching a stringent
design brief with well defined objectives:
• Provide a comprehensive data reporting system
for key energy users within the building for CSR
reporting
• Optimise owner controlled common areas and
HVAC plant
• Provide a remote monitoring service to enable
energy savings to be delivered
Actions
The EDGE system, provided by EP&T Global, At York House, energy saving measures introduced, as
automatically uploads electricity and gas data to a central a direct result of Advanced Metering, included:
system every 15 minutes. A remote monitoring service • Repairing a broken sensor that had been causing
then highlights opportunities for building engineers constant gas use for heating
and occupiers to optimise energy efficiency, financially • Reprogramming the Building Management System
quantifying the impact of each action. A monthly report to fix constant gas use for cooling
provides an ongoing review of outstanding actions, • Improving the use of external air to provide free
together with their financial benefits. cooling
• Faults identified and rectified with the programming
The Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Service (MARS) of the BMS on air handling
combines data acquired through the EDGE system, • Reprogramming the BMS to facilitate weather
with detailed monthly analysis by a remote team of compensation with a new 15.5oC set point
engineers, to deliver recommendations to the building • Introducing economy cycles and new set-points for
team with projected savings. summer and winter heating and cooling schedules

2. Challenges Achievements
Partnership
Bringing together all six parties involved in the building British Land’s green building management group
to work collaboratively on initiatives that usually would provided a forum to discuss the initial investment,
be managed separately. agreeing initiatives and monitoring progress on an
ongoing basis.
Comfort
Overcoming concerns that efforts to reduce energy A well-managed building should provide high standards
use would negatively effect comfort levels and working of comfort. At British Land’s multi-let office buildings,
conditions. a help desk system records any calls related to room
temperature, with engineers promptly resolving issues.
Responsibility
Making sure that everybody involved understands their The working groups provided a forum for all parties to
roles and responsibilities. agree roles and responsibilities, formalised through
Green Memoranda of Understanding. Sustainability
Technical consultants, funded by British Land, also help
• Capture Gas and water data participants to implement energy saving initiatives.
• Capture main incomer electricity data
• Integrate all current metering “The success of the partnership at York House is
• Augment current metering with G4 meters testament to adopting a managed approach from day
one, and the tremendous commitment from British
Finance Land, Broadgate Estates, hurleypalmerflatt and all of
The up front cost of the trial project was burdened by the occupiers.”
British Land. The benefits will be seen by occupiers Stuart Bowman, Divisional Director of Energy and
through an ongoing reduction to the service charge Sustainability at hurleypalmerflatt
Benefits Financials
In the first 18 months, the York House installation and CAPEX cost: £65k total
implementaion of Advanced Metering realised: Ongoing costs: £1.1k per month
• 37% less British Land influenced energy use in the Total savings (15 months) £49.7k
first year and 8% less occupier controlled energy Payback (capex only): 1.6 years
use* Payback (total project): 2.6 years
• 1.9 million kWh less energy use
• £63,000 lower energy bills EP&T is so confident of the effectiveness of its system
• 700 tonnes fewer carbon emissions that it offers guaranteed savings.
• Closer relationships between British Land,
occupiers and building management teams The total capital cost across all nine buildings is under
• Faster, more efficient and accurate billing £1 million, of which a significant proportion was funded
by British Land and the remainder by occupiers.
Where British Land provided the initial capital
investment, it will recover this through utility cost
savings generated as a result of energy reductions.
“We thank everyone involved for working with us to
install the Advanced Metering system and improve
energy efficiency at York House and beyond. We hope
to roll out this system across our entire office portfolio.”
Justin Snoxall, Head of the Business Group at British Land
Source: EDGE Intelligent System, courtesy of EP&T Global
* 1 April 2009 to 31 March 2010, compared to the same period the year before. Cost savings based on 8.82p per kWh for electricity and 2.035p per
kWh for gas. British Land influenced energy use comprises electricity and gas use in common parts, central HVAC and British Land occupied areas.
A Better Buildings Partnership case study inspired by:
British Land
For more information contact: Justin Snoxall
justin.snoxall@britishland.com
+44 (0) 20 7467 3464